This was bounced to me this morning. Thought it might be appreciated, for
any number of reasons, by some folks here. It's the next logical extension
of the "animal rights" philosophy.
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Subject: new flash
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEVEN SOFTWARE COMPANIES ADDED TO "WATCH LIST"
New York, NJ, Sept. 24 -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Software
(PETS) announced today that seven more software companies have been
added to the group's "watch list" of companies that regularly practice
software testing.
"There is no need for software to be mistreated in this way so that companies
like these can market new products," said Ken Granola, spokesperson for PETS.
"Alternative methods of testing these products are available."
According to PETS, these companies force software to undergo lengthly
and arduous tests, often without rest for hours or days at a
time. Employees are assigned to "break" the software by any means
necessary, and inside sources report that they often joke about
"torturing" the software.
"It's no joke," said Granola. "Innocent programs, from the day they are
compiled, are cooped up in tiny rooms and 'crashed' for hours on end. They
spend their whole lives on dirty, ill-maintained computers, and are
unceremoniously deleted when they're not needed anymore."
Granola said the software is kept in unsanitary conditions and is
infested with bugs.
"We know alternatives to this horror exist," he said, citing industry
giant Microsoft Corp. as a company that has become extremely
successful without resorting to software testing.
PETS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of software
programs and promoting alternatives to software testing.